WORSHIP FROM YOUR HEART

Mark 14:3 "And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head."

                                                                 MARK 14:3-6

The spikenard was a fragrant plant, and its roots were used in Jesus' day to make an aromatic, costly perfume and ointment. The plant, itself, grows in the Himalaya mountains at an elevation of 11,000 to 17,000 feet. For centuries, it was used by Hindus as a medicine and perfume and was an actively traded commodity. Its great cost stemmed from that it had to be transported over 6,000 miles to reach Palestine, and depending on quality, it sold for as much as 400 denarii per pound (or $750 an ounce, is the modern purchasing equivalent). That made it more valuable than gold. This ointment was worth at least two and one-half times more than the thirty pieces of silver that Judas received for betraying the Lord, which is why Judas was so upset. This perfume was worth two and one-half times what Judas thought Jesus was worth.

Judas didn't care about the poor. He wanted to have the money that the perfume could have been sold for in his bag (he was the treasurer for Jesus) so he could steal it. This is a very serious crime that Jesus no doubt knew about, but scripture never mentions Him confronting Judas.

Judas' reaction to this act of pure worship is typical of the reaction toward worship of many people today. Judas and some of the other disciples, thought this was a waste. That was only because they didn't value Jesus as highly as Mary did. Mary had seen Jesus raise her brother from the dead and her heart was overflowing with love and worship. The disciples were looking on the outward things while Jesus was looking at Mary's heart (1 Sam. 16:7). Those who cannot see beyond the physical realm will be offended at others' displays of worship. True worship comes from the heart.

RESPOND TO GOD'S DIRECTION

Luke 19:26 "For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him."

                                                                       LUKE 19:26

What was it that this wicked servant didn't have that caused his master to take back the money he had given him? It wasn't the tangible money that he had been given. He had kept that laid up in a napkin and he still possessed it. What he was missing and what the other servant had that caused the lord to give this pound to him was faithfulness. Those who are faithful with what God has given them will be given more, and those who are wasteful will have what God has given them taken away and given to another.

Christians will one day stand before the Lord for the purpose of receiving rewards, and all our actions will be revealed, whether they were our own doings or directed by the Spirit of God. Those who were not governed by the Holy Spirit in their actions will see all their good works burned up in that day when we stand before the Lord and He tries our works. Those who acted only under the guidance of the Holy Spirit will find that their works will endure the test and they will receive a reward.

Many people choose to do good things thinking that God will be pleased. But our positive response to God's direction (faith) is what pleases God (Heb. 11:6). We were created with a purpose and every individual has a God-given plan for his life. We need to let God work in and through us and faithfully fulfill what He has called us to do.

BE FAITHFUL WITH A LITTLE

Luke 19:12-13 "He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come."

LUKE 19:11-27

The main purpose of this parable is to show that there would be a long period when Jesus would go away before returning to fulfill the prophecy about a physical kingdom on earth.

The nobleman's servants were called to give an account for what they had done with their lord's money that was delivered unto them. The servants were commanded to "occupy till I come." These servants represent the followers of Jesus. However, being a follower of Jesus is more than simply not rejecting Him. It is an active commitment to serve Him. One of the ten servants had served himself and not His master. He did nothing with what his lord had given him. This wicked servant was stripped of what he had and it was given to the servant who had used his lord's money wisely.

This illustrates that the Lord expects us to grow. This is made very clear in the parables of the kingdom which Jesus taught. In nearly every parable, growth or increase is expected. This servant who did nothing with what his lord gave him represents a believer who never grows or brings increase to God's kingdom.

What was it that this wicked servant didn't have that caused his master to take back the money he had given him? It wasn't the tangible money that he received. He had kept that laid up in a napkin and still possessed it. What he was missing and what the other servant had that caused the lord to give this pound to him was faithfulness. Those who are faithful with what God has given them will be given more, and those who are wasteful will have what God has given them taken away and given to another. Use wisely what God has given to you.

MINISTER GOD'S LOVE

Luke 19:8 "And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold."

LUKE 19:1-8

Zacchaeus was rich but Jesus made no demands for him to give away all his goods to the poor as He did with the rich young ruler. Zacchaeus had already repented and money was no longer his god, as was revealed by his actions. It seems that Zacchaeus was going above and beyond the requirement of restitution as stated in Mosaic law by offering to give half of his goods to the poor and to repay fourfold for his theft.

Publicans were hated by their fellow Jews. They were especially despised by the religious Jews as the epitome of sinners and Jewish religious laws prevented devout Jews from keeping company with any publican. To eat with a publican was unthinkable as the Jews considered this actually partaking of the publican's sins. This is why the people reacted so adversely to Jesus eating with Zacchaeus.

Jesus did not eat at Zacchaeus' house to participate in his sin but to extend mercy and forgiveness to him. This is always the criterion whereby we can judge whether or not we should be involved in a certain situation. We must not participate in other men's sins, but the Lord doesn't want us to retreat to monasteries either. We are the salt of the earth (Mt. 5:13), and to do any good, we have to get out of the "salt shaker." If we can be in control and minister the love of God, then we are right to associate with sinners. But when we are being controlled by the ungodliness of sinners, we need to take control or withdraw.

PLEASE GOD NOT PEOPLE

Mark 10:48 "And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me."

MARK 10:43-48

The devil will always have someone available to tell us why we shouldn't expect to get results when petitioning God. Most people would rather stay with the crowd and not do anything to draw attention to themselves even if that means not getting their needs met. They will try to make you conform as well. If this man would have listened to the crowd, he would not have received his healing. "Ye have not, because ye ask not" (Jas. 4:2).

This blind man is a good example of an active kind of faith. He was not passive in his approach toward healing. He boldly cried out to Jesus for mercy. When the crowd ridiculed him and told him to be quiet, he cried out even louder for mercy.

Many people believe that God can perform the miracle they need but relatively few are willing to actively pursue it until they get results. They are afraid of what others will think of them. This man had his attention focused only on Jesus. Nothing else mattered and that is why he got healed.

An integral part of faith is seeking God only with your whole heart. If we are concerned about what people think so that we can gain their approval, we will never take a stand in faith for anything that we might be criticized for. This one thing has probably stopped as many people from receiving from God as anything else. You cannot be a "man-pleaser" and please God at the same time. Satan uses persecutions to steal away God's Word and thereby stop our faith. To see faith work, we must say with Paul, "let God be true, but every man a liar" (Rom. 3:4).

JESUS PAID THE PRICE

Mark 10:45 "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."

MARK 10:45

Jesus told His disciples many times of His death but this is the first time He indicated the reason for His death. Now it is clear that His death would be a "ransom", defined in the Greek as a means of loosing by paying a price.

The words "ransom" and "redeem" were used interchangeably in scripture.

Not only would Jesus pay the price for sin but also His death would be substitutionary. In 1 Timothy 2:6, the word "ransom" is taken from the Greek word "antilutron" which means "a redemption-price." The Greek word "anti" means "in place of." In other words, the ransom avails for all who will accept it (Jn. 3:16; Rom. 10:13).

The price paid for our redemption is the life of Jesus, that is, Jesus' blood (Col. 1:14). This redemption, according to Hebrews 9:12, is eternal and is intended to purify us from all iniquity (Ti. 2:14), and bring us to serve the living God (Heb. 9:14).

This can be illustrated by the way we use trading stamps. First, the stamps have to be purchased, then they are redeemed for the desired product. The purchase is essential but so is the redemption. No one really wants the stamps. They want what the stamps can be redeemed for. The purchase for our total salvation has already been made with the blood of Jesus, but our bodies have not been redeemed yet. That is to say that we have not received yet, all the benefits of this transaction in our physical bodies. This will take place at the second coming of the Lord when we receive our new glorified bodies.

Our spirits are the only part of us that have experienced total redemption.

Thank God for the redemption He has provided for you today.

SHARE IN HIS SUFFERINGS

Matthew 20:22 "But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able."

MATTHEW 20:17-25

The Greek word for baptize is "baptizo." This word was used by Plato (fourth century B.C.) to describe a man being "overwhelmed" by philosophical arguments; or it means sponges being "dipped" in fluid; and by Strabo (first century B.C.) to describe people who could not swim as being "submerged" under water. Josephus in the first century A.D. used the word to describe the city of Jerusalem as being "overwhelmed" or "plunged" into destruction by the Romans; and Plutarch (also first century A.D.) used this word to refer to a person being "immersed" in the sea. In the Septuagint (the Greek version of the O.T.), "baptizo" is used to describe Naaman dipping himself in the Jordan River (2 Ki. 5:14). From classical Greek right down to New Testament Greek, the same basic meaning has been retained: "To immerse, submerge, dip or plunge." Jesus is stating that the disciples will indeed be plunged into the same sufferings that He will experience.

There are many forms of persecution. Having your life threatened because of your faith in Jesus is one way you can be persecuted. History shows that the church has always flourished under persecution with increased numbers and zeal. During intense, life-threatening persecution, people's priorities get straightened out and the Lord assumes His rightful place. This always works for our good, regardless of what our outward circumstances might be. It helps to recognize that it is not you that they are persecuting, but rather Christ in you. You are actually partaking in His sufferings and will share in His rewards. With this in mind, we can actually shout and leap for joy in times of persecution.

IT'S NOT WHAT YOU DO

Matthew 20:8 "So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first."

MATTHEW 20:1-16

This parable begins with Jesus' statement that the kingdom of heaven is likened to a man who is a householder (owner of an estate). He went out early in the morning to hire workers to work in his vineyard for the day. An agreed upon price was set at a penny, the normal wage paid daily for a laborer. Later, around 9 a.m., the landowner encouraged others, standing idle in the marketplace, to work in the vineyard, not for a set wage but for "whatsoever is right." The landowner employed more laborers at noon, at 3 p.m. and even some at 5 p.m. when there was only one hour left to work.

According to Jewish law, wages must be paid each evening before the sun sets. When it came time for the steward to pay the laborers, he began with those working the shortest amount of time and paid each man a penny (a full day's wage). Those working the entire day murmured, for they supposed they would have received more. They agreed, however, to work for a penny, the stipulated wage agreed upon.

The context of this parable supports the teaching that it is impossible to earn the generosity of the Master. This is a lesson on grace. Regardless of whether or not our performance is better than someone else's, we all need God's grace because we have all come short of God's standard. The landowner gave freely, making all equal. Jesus is saying that the benefits of the kingdom are the same for all who have become subject to its King, regardless of what they have done. Therefore, those who are last (or least) in the sense that they have not served the Lord as long or as well as others, will truly become "first" when they share equally of the Lord's goodness with those who "have borne the burden and heat of the day" (Mt. 20:12).

RECEIVE THE GIFT OF SALVATION

Mark 10:21 "Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me."

MARK 10:21-27

Notice that the scripture makes special mention of Jesus loving this rich young ruler. This is stated after this young man said he had kept all of God's commands, which was not the truth. Jesus was showing him that he had broken the very first commandment that states, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Ex. 20:3), and also the tenth commandment that says, "Thou shalt not covet..." (Ex. 20:17). Jesus' tough answer of "sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor" was not intended to hurt this young man. It was said from a heart of love and intended for his own good. This man's money had become his god and it had to be dethroned before Jesus could become Lord.

The one thing this young man lacked was faith in Jesus as his Savior. This young ruler was trusting in his goodness and not in the salvation that Jesus offered as a gift. Millions of people are making the same mistake today. They trust in themselves instead of God.

Jesus only came to save sinners. Unless an individual acknowledges that he is a sinner, he cannot be saved. Because the whole world is guilty before God, He has provided one way of salvation for everyone. In the same way that everyone is guilty, everyone also has been justified freely by God's grace.

That does not mean everyone is saved. Everyone has had the sacrificial offering of Jesus made for their sins by grace but grace alone doesn't save.

We have to put faith in what God has provided for us by grace. Although the price has been paid for the sins of the whole world, only those who receive it by faith will benefit from the salvation that Jesus offers.

TRUST IN JESUS AS YOUR SAVIOR

Matthew 19:16 "And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?"

MATTHEW 19:12-20

On the surface, it appears that this rich young ruler was "right on" in the way he approached Jesus and sought salvation. He ran, kneeled down to Jesus, and openly professed Him as a Good Master. What could be wrong with that?

First, he acknowledged Jesus as good but not as God. This is a pivotal point.

Every major religion of the world acknowledges that Jesus lived and will even admit that He definitely was a good man, but they won't recognize Him as God. If Jesus was only a good man, He couldn't save anybody. Jesus didn't just come to show us the way to God. He was the way, the only way unto the Father.

No man could come unto the Father, but by Him (Jn. 14:6). Jesus had made this point publicly many times before. This is the reason that Jesus responded to this young man's question the way He did. Jesus was saying, "God is the only one who is good. You must accept me as God or not at all." Jesus was either who He claimed to be or He was the biggest fraud that ever lived. He has to be one or the other. He cannot be both.

Second, he asked what he could do to produce salvation. He trusted in himself and believed he could accomplish whatever good work Jesus might request. This is completely opposed to the plan of salvation that Jesus came to bring.

Jesus obtained salvation for us through His substitution and He offers it to us as a free gift. All we must do is believe and receive. This rich young ruler wasn't looking for a Savior. He was trying to be his own savior. This is the reason Jesus referred him back to the commandments. He either needed to keep all of the law perfectly or he needed a Savior. Jesus desired to turn this man from trusting in himself by showing him God's perfect standard, which no one could keep, so that then he would trust in a Savior.

SETTLING OUR DOUBTS

John 1:46, "And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see."

JOHN 1:43-51

Nathanael suffered from a skepticism that afflicts many people today.

However, it is to his credit that he came to the Lord and gave Him a chance to prove who He was.

We can only speculate what it was that Jesus saw Nathanael doing under that fig tree (v. 50), but it is very clear that it was something that proved beyond a doubt that Jesus was the Christ.

Jesus didn't rebuke Nathanael for his doubts, instead he removed them. The Lord has an answer for every doubt that we have. We need to be without guile before the Lord as Nathanael was (v. 47) and come to Him when we are plagued with doubts instead of running from Him or avoiding Him.

Jesus knows our frame. He remembers that we are but dust (Ps. 103:14). It is not a sin to doubt, but it becomes sin if we harbor those doubts. We should do as Nathanael did and bring our doubts to the Lord. Let's allow Him to deal with them.

SATAN'S POWER IS LIMITED

Luke 4:13, "And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season."

MT. 4:1-11; MK. 1:12-13; LK. 4:1-13

The wording of this verse implies that Satan exhausted his arsenal of temptations on Jesus and then had to leave.

We have mistakenly given Satan too much credit. He does not have a limitless number of temptations that he can pull on us. As 1 Jn. 2:16 says, there are three areas where the devil tempts us: (1) the lust of the flesh, (2) the lust of the eyes, and (3) the pride of life. Jesus' three temptations correspond to these.

By ascribing to Satan limitless temptations and abilities, we have built up our adversary to be bigger than he is. The truth is, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it]" (I Cor. 10:13).

Satan would like you to think that he is tougher than he really is. One of his greatest weapons is intimidation, but he has been defeated. His teeth have been pulled. Now he can only roar as a lion seeking to devour uninformed souls who don't know their authority in Christ (1 Pet. 5:8).

Today, realize that whatever Satan is fighting you with is only temporary. Don't quit. In due season you will reap, if you faint not (Gal. 6:9).

THE WEAPON OF THE WORD

Luke 4:4, "And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."

MT. 4:1-11; MK. 1:12-13; LK. 4:1-13

Jesus answered every temptation with, "It is written." The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17). It is the only offensive spiritual weapon that we have.

Since Jesus was the Word of God (Jn. 1:1), anything he would have spoken would have been the Word. He could have said "scat" and the devil would have had to go, yet He quoted the written Word of God three times.

This gives us great assurance that the written Word of God is sufficient for us. Jesus, in the face of the greatest temptations that Satan had to offer, did not need to say anything that was not already recorded in scripture.

It is likely that when Jesus returns to this earth and destroys His enemies, He will just speak the Word that has already been given in scripture. No wonder Satan tries to keep us from studying and knowing God's Word. Even our good works will hurt us if they keep us from really knowing the scriptures.

God has given us this mighty weapon of His Word! When we speak the Word in faith, hell shakes. Satan and his minions have already experienced what the Word can do. They know its power. We need to know it, too.

"What I didn’t realize was that God had healed my entire body…"

My husband and I wanted to hear you, Andrew, in person and knew you would be in Dallas the following weekend. I had previously had a root canal on a tooth that had been bothering me for a long time and everything was fine, but the week of the Gospel Truth Seminar, it began to hurt again. By the time we made it to the conference, I was taking ibuprofen around the clock again to keep the pain down. I was in my seat during a prayer time, and I knew that God had healed me. My pain stopped. What I didn’t realize was that God had healed my entire body.
Years earlier, I had been deathly sick, and in the process of trying to help me, I was prescribed a hormone patch. It was a regular part of my life, and I thought nothing of it by this time. However, days after returning from our trip, I began to not be able to sleep. My heart would race, and I felt wired all the time. My doctor concluded that I was probably developing mitral valve prolapse (a heart condition). After praying about it, I felt the Holy Spirit impress upon me that I had been completely healed and that my patch was making me sick. I went back to the doctor and asked if I could remove the patch and see if that would help. She did not recommend it but said we could try weaning slowly. As soon as I removed the patch, my health was restored and I slept again. As per my doctor’s suggestion, I put the patch back on two weeks later for a two-weeks-on, two-weeks-off weaning process. Within hours, my symptoms began to return. I took it off immediately and have not used it since. Thank You, Lord, for Your grace and healing.

D. H. Covington, TN

RIGHTEOUSNESS IS A GIFT

Luke 18:9 "And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:"

LUKE 18:9-14

People who are self-righteous often despise others. No one can compare himself with God's perfect standard and feel good about himself. To trust in ourselves, we have to constantly compare ourselves with others. This breeds a critical attitude towards others that exalts self by debasing others.

No one can ever be righteous in the sight of God through his own righteousness. Our actions benefit us in relationships with people and prevent Satan from having an opportunity against us, but they cannot make us right (righteous) with God. We must trust in God and receive His gift of righteousness completely on the basis of faith in what Christ did for us. This is the truth that this parable is presenting.

Most people are unaware that there are two kinds of righteousness. Only one type of righteousness is acceptable to God. One form of righteousness is our own righteousness. These are the acts of holiness that we do in an attempt to fulfill the commands of the Old Testament law. This is an imperfect righteousness because human nature is imperfect and incapable of fulfilling the law.

God's righteousness is not something that we do, but something that we receive as a gift through faith in Christ. It's not possible to trust in our own righteousness and in God's righteousness. A person who believes that he must earn God's acceptance by his holy actions must not believe in God's righteousness, which is a gift. It has to be one or the other; we cannot mix the two. Righteousness is not what Jesus has done for us plus some minimum standard of holiness that we have to accomplish. God's righteousness is perfect. Accept this gift He offers to you.

GOD ANSWERS PRAYER

Luke 18:7 "And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? "

LUKE 18:1-8

This is not an exact comparison of God to this unjust judge, teaching us that we should badger God until we weary Him and He grants us our request.

Rather, Jesus is contrasting His willingness to answer our prayers with this unjust judge's unwillingness. The parable is a contrast, not a representation.

Not only do we have God who is a just judge who will avenge His elect speedily, but we also have Jesus as our advocate or attorney who is always making intercession for us. However, we have an adversary (the devil) who is constantly accusing us and misrepresenting God (the judge). This causes men to give up (faint) and not even plead their case with God because they doubt that He will answer them anyway.

Jesus is saying that our Father is not an unjust judge that we have to pressure into doing what is right. Many times we put more faith in people and their willingness to do what is right than we do in God. Satan has deceived us about the willingness of God to answer our prayers and Jesus is countering that deception with this parable. Jesus is encouraging us to pray (petition God) and not doubt His willingness to grant our requests. To teach that we must pester God until He gives in to our pressure is not good theology.

This widow's actions were commendable. She knew what was rightfully hers and she refused to take "no" for an answer. If we can be that confident and determined when dealing with unjust men, how much more should we persist, despite the devil's delays, when dealing with our faithful Father. You can trust Him to always come through for you.

LIKE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT

 Luke 17:24 "For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day."

LUKE 17:24-31

This scripture and the parallel scripture in Matthew 24:27 make it very clear that the second return of Jesus will be no secret to anyone. In Matthew's account, it is especially clear that this statement about the lightning was made so that we wouldn't be deceived by false Christs. Just as lightning is visible to everyone, so the second return of Jesus will be witnessed by the whole world. That's the reason we don't have to be fearful about missing His second coming and anxiously follow every report that Christ has come.

These verses completely destroy the claims of the Bahai religion and others who claim that Jesus has secretly come back the second time.

Just as Jesus had warned His disciples not to be deceived by false Christs because His second coming would be visible to everyone, He also explains that until the very day of His coming, the world will continue on its present course. People will not discern the signs of His coming just as the people during Noah's day didn't realize their impending judgment. This corresponds exactly with Jesus' prophecies about His coming being like the appearance of a thief in the night. Jesus is emphasizing that the unbelievers will not recognize that He is coming until it is too late. He is stressing that His coming will take the world by surprise.

The Lord is pointing out the urgent need to be ready for His return. In the same way that a thief comes when people are the least prepared, so our Lord will return in a time when people are not looking for Him. There will be a condition of apathy in the latter days that will tend to lull even the faithful to sleep if they don't take heed to His words. He urges us to be watchful so we will be prepared.

GIVE THANKS DAILY

Luke 17:18 "There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger."

LUKE 17:11-18

Relatively few people who receive the goodness of the Lord return to give Him thanks for what He has done. That does not keep the Lord from doing what is right for us. He healed all ten of these lepers according to their request - not just the one who was thankful. However, there was only one out of the ten that was made "whole."

The Lord desires that we prosper in spirit, soul, and body. He wants us to be whole - not just healed. Part of the reason God meets our physical needs is to prove to us His willingness and ability to meet our emotional and spiritual needs. The Lord is concerned about our temporal needs (Mt. 6:30), but He is even more concerned about our eternal needs. All of these lepers needed physical healing and the Lord was moved with compassion and met their need.

He was also desiring to meet their spiritual needs, but only one out of the ten came back for that.

Being unthankful is always a sign that self is exalting itself above God. A selfless person can be content with very little. A self-centered person cannot be satisfied. Thankfulness is a sign of humility and cultivating a life of thankfulness will help keep "self" in its proper place.

Thankfulness to the Lord for what He is and what He has done is a very important part of the Christian life. One of the many benefits of thanksgiving and praise is that they keep us from being "self" oriented.

Giving thanks is a totally unselfish action and is a key to relationship with the Father that makes us "whole" and not just "healed."

FOCUS ON THE THINGS ABOVE

John 11:44 "And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go."

JOHN 11:44

Symbolically, Lazarus is like many Christians. The Bible speaks of us passing from death unto new life when we get born again. But it is also true that in the physical and emotional realm, we bring our "graveclothes" from our old life with us (i.e. habits, attitudes, etc.), and we need to be "loosed" to fully enjoy our new life.

Our emotions and attitudes follow what we think. When we focus our attention on our problems, they are magnified out of proportion. When we neglect our problems and think on God's provision, the answer is magnified and the problem shrinks. Whatever we think upon is going to dominate us. If we think on depressing things, we'll be depressed. If we think on uplifting things, we'll be uplifted. If we think, "by His stripes, we are healed", we'll be healed. If we think on sickness, we'll be sick.

Godly contentment isn't dependent upon circumstances. That is totally opposite of the way most people think today. No one really desires depression but very few feel any responsibility or authority to maintain positive emotions in the face of negative circumstances. They think emotions follow circumstances. That's not true. Emotions follow the way we think, and we can chose to think on things that are lovely, true, of good report, and so forth regardless of our circumstances. As we think, is how we respond emotionally.

Focus your attention on the invisible truths of the spiritual realm that are eternal, instead of the visible things of this physical world that will pass away.

GROANING IN THE SPIRIT

John 11:33 "When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled."

JOHN 11:33

The Greek word that is translated "groaned" expresses that Jesus was deeply moved, but not necessarily with sorrow. It was more a groan of anger at Satan who had caused all the grief Jesus was seeing around Him. Jesus came to "destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Heb. 2:14), and He was grieved to see the pain that His enemy had inflicted on those He loved.

This is the type of groaning that the Holy Spirit does for us. It is not just the Holy Spirit sympathizing with us, but it is the Holy Spirit doing battle for us when we don't know how to pray. In this case, it was the Holy Spirit doing battle through Jesus against death and the doubt of those present, that would have kept Lazarus in the grave.

Everyone who has the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit has or will have this happen to them. This groaning of the Holy Spirit is not just grief but a groan of anger and resistance against Satan's devices in our lives. Many times Christians don't discern this because they think it is just them grieved with their situation. But this is the Holy Spirit desiring to get into intercession with us against our problems.

Although the groaning is unutterable, you can discern it, and many times people react with audible groans or other outward acts. This has led to religious doctrines and traditions that are unscriptural and offensive to many people. There is nothing wrong with us reacting to the inner working of the Holy Spirit as long as we don't confuse our reactions with the Holy Spirit's actions. This intercession cannot be uttered. Any counterfeits that religion may have produced only serve to illustrate that there has to be a genuine. The genuine groaning in the Spirit is priceless.